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Nier FAQ (version 1.00)
DISCLAIMER:
This FAQ is meant for personal use only. You may host this FAQ on your own
website if you so wish, don't bother asking me for permission--in fact, I'd
rather you didn't.
The latest copy of this FAQ will always be available at
http://www.gamefaqs.com/(c) Copyright 2009 by J.F. Fox
__ __
\ \ __ __ / /
\ \__\ \____ _____/ /__/ /
| __ ____> ~ Table of Contents ~ <_____ __ |
/ / /_/ \_\ \ \
/_/ \_\
*Note: use the search function (ctrl+f) to jump to the desired section.
Introduction.................................................[N-01]
\--Game Information........................................[N-01A]
\--Controls...............................................[N-01B]
\--Premise...............................................[N-01C]
\--Characters...........................................[N-01D]
\--Contact Information.................................[N-01E]
Walkthrough (Part One).......................................[N-02]
\--Prologue................................................[N-02A]
\--The Village............................................[N-02B]
\--The Lost Shrine.......................................[N-02C]
\--The Aerie............................................[N-02D]
\--Seafront............................................[N-02E]
\--The Junk Heap......................................[N-02F]
\--The Aerie, Again..................................[N-02G]
\--Facade...........................................[N-02H]
\--The Barren Temple...............................[N-02I]
\--Forest of Myth.................................[N-02J]
\--The Haunted Manor.............................[N-02K]
\--The Village, Again...........................[N-02L]
Walkthrough (Part Two).......................................[N-03]
\--The Haunted Manor, Revisited............................[N-03A]
\--The Underground Facility...............................[N-03B]
\--The Lost Shrine, Revisited............................[N-03C]
\--The Junk Heap, Revisited.............................[N-03D]
\--Facade, Revisited...................................[N-03E]
\--Forest of Myth, Revisited..........................[N-03F]
\--The Aerie, Revisited..............................[N-03G]
\--The Shadowlord's Castle..........................[N-03H]
\--Endings and New Game+...........................[N-03I]
Sidequests (Part One)........................................[N-04]
\--Village Sidequests......................................[N-04A]
\--Seafront Sidequests....................................[N-04B]
\--Facade Sidequests.....................................[N-04C]
Sidequests (Part Two)........................................[N-05]
\--New Village Sidequests..................................[N-05A]
\--New Seafront Sidequests................................[N-05B]
\--New Facade Sidequests.................................[N-05C]
\--Wilderness Sidequests................................[N-05D]
Weapons......................................................[N-06]
\--One-Handed Swords.......................................[N-06A]
\--Two-Handed Swords......................................[N-06B]
\--Spears................................................[N-06C]
Words........................................................[N-07]
Items........................................................[N-08]
\--Recovery Items..........................................[N-08A]
\--Raw Materials..........................................[N-08B]
\--Fishing Items.........................................[N-08C]
\--Cultivation Items....................................[N-08D]
\--Key Items...........................................[N-08E]
Fishing......................................................[N-09]
Downloadable Content.........................................[N-10]
\--Quests..................................................[N-10A]
\--Weapons................................................[N-10B]
\--Costumes..............................................[N-10C]
Cheats & Extras..............................................[N-11]
Trophies.....................................................[N-12]
Frequently Asked Questions...................................[N-13]
Update Log...................................................[N-14]
Acknowledgments..............................................[N-15]
__ __
\ \ __ __ / /
\ \__\ \____ _____/ /__/ /
| __ ____> ~ Introduction ~ <_____ __ |
/ / /_/ \_\ \ \
/_/ [N-01] \_\
Welcome to my FAQ for Nier. I realize it's not much to look at right now,
but I sincerely hope you'll find some use for it as you play this wonderful,
fun game.
I will try my best to assemble all of the pertinent information regarding Nier
in a clear, concise and organized manner. With luck, everything should
be clear and easy to find. Again, I hope you'll find this FAQ helpful—and
I also hope you'll have as much fun with this game as I've had.
Current FAQ Status:
This FAQ/Walkthrough is complete! And I did it in record time, too!
Future updates will be limited to minor updates, corrections and/or
revisions.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ Game Information ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-01A]
Nier is an action role-playing game, currently on the market in North
America, Europe and Japan, on both the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 consoles.
This FAQ is written specifically for the PS3 version of the game, but all
of the information here contained should also apply to the Xbox 360 version,
as both versions of the game are identical.
The PlayStation 3 version of Nier released in Japan is slightly different
than the normal version. Called Nier Replicant, it features a different
protagonist: rather than play an old man and father, you play a younger
man and brother. All of the dialog and story content, however, is
identical.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ Controls ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-01B]
The controls are all very simple and self-explanatory, so I don't think
there's much need to tarry too long on this. I will remind you, however,
that you can customize the various bumper buttons (R1, R2, L1, L2 on
PS3; RB, RT, LB, LT on X360) with different attacks. This can be
particularly useful if, like me, you don't bother much with evading and
would rather dedicate a second button to a third magic attack.
Playstation 3 Controls:
Left Analog Stick.....................Movement (walk/run)
Right Analog Stick....................Camera Movement
R3....................................Reset Camera
D-Pad Up..............................Item Menu
D-Pad Right...........................Spear Menu
D-Pad Down............................Single-Handed Sword Menu
D-Pad Left............................Two-Handed Sword Menu
Cross.................................Jump (double jump)
Circle................................Examine
Square................................Attack
Triangle..............................Special Attack
L2....................................Defend
R2....................................Evade
R1....................................Cast Magic
L1....................................Cast Magic
Start.................................Skip Cutscene
Select................................Expand Mini-Map
Xbox 360 Controls:
Left Analog Stick.....................Movement (walk/run)
Right Analog Stick....................Camera Movement
R3....................................Reset Camera
D-Pad Up..............................Item Menu
D-Pad Right...........................Spear Menu
D-Pad Down............................Single-Handed Sword Menu
D-Pad Left............................Two-Handed Sword Menu
A.....................................Jump (double jump)
B.....................................Examine
X.....................................Attack
Y.....................................Special Attack
LT....................................Defend
RT....................................Evade
RB....................................Cast Magic
LB....................................Cast Magic
Start.................................Skip Cutscene
Back..................................Expand Mini-Map
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ Premise ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-01C]
It is the distant future. Humanity's past glories are but a forgotten
memory, its greatest achievements vanished into dust on the wind. The
world that remains--a strange and savage place--is dying.
The few humans who remain now live a medieval existence, eking out
what sustenance they can from a harsh and unforgiving land. Dark,
twisted creatures known as Shades roam the world, bringing with them
terror and death. Fear and chaos rule each day. As it did yesterday.
...As it will tomorrow.
In this world lives a modest, unassuming man and his young daughter.
She has been infected by a deadly disease known as the Black Scrawl,
and so her father has sworn to journey in search of a cure.
The adventure that ensues will be beyond anything he has ever
experienced.
He will encounter Grimoire Weiss, an ancient book of almost unbelievable
power who can use words as weapons. He will face off against Grimoire
Noir, a supposed harbinger of the end times. And he will learn the
truth behind both the legendary Sealed Verses, and the cursed Shades
that hound his every step.
As the world collapses into chaos around him, as his very mind betrays
him, the man will press on with a single, dim light flickering in his
mind:
He will save his daughter. No matter the cost.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ Characters ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-01D]
The Father
Strong, kind, and unwilling to abide cruelty of any kind. He
has a single daughter, Yonah, with whom he is gentle and
protective to a fault.
Grimoire Weiss
An ancient book that joins the father on his quest. Powerful
and arrogant, he is quick to proclaim his mastery on any and
all topics which present themselves. While he prefers to be
called by his full and proper name of Grimoire Weiss, most
refer to him simply as Weiss.
Yonah
A daughter who lives to please her father, even though her
efforts often cause more harm than help. Due to her frail health,
she spends most of her time at home.
Kaine
A human who has been possessed by a Shade. Vulgar, violent,
and unpredictable, she is nevertheless a valuable companion
on the father's quest. Some think her harsh exterior hides a
shy, endearing side.
Emil
A companion who joins the father during his travels. He combats
Shades with a powerful arsenal of magic.
Shades
Mysterious creatures that appear out of nowhere to prey on people
and livestock. They come in a variety of types, each with its
own unique set of attacks.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ Contact Information ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-01E]
For any questions, comments, and concerns, you may contact me via my
email address (
mwulf.0079@gmail.com) or attempt to reach me through
the Nier 3 message board (either one) at GameFAQs.com.
In general, I reply to any emails I get within two days, unless the
email is asking for information that is clearly within the FAQ.
__ __
\ \ __ __ / /
\ \__\ \____ _____/ /__/ /
| __ ____> ~ Walkthrough (Part One) ~ <_____ __ |
/ / /_/ \_\ \ \
/_/ [N-02] \_\
Nier is a very straightforward game, so I sincerely doubt this is a
walkthrough that any will need to follow straight-on-through. Rather,
think of it more as a resource for those rare occasions when you cannot
figure out where to go next or, in the first part of the game, want to know
just how much story content you can pursue before reaching the point
of no return.
As per my typical style, I'll keep the walkthrough as brief as possible,
and avoid as many spoilers as humanly possible.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ Prologue ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02A]
The Distant Past
The prologue serves mostly as a tutorial to the combat mechanics
of the game. Follow the prompts and kill all of the shades in the
room. After a short cutscene, more shades will spawn for you to
fight. You'll be forced to lose the fight and view another, rather
cool cutscene. When it's over you'll be outside--for magic practice.
Here, you'll fight a crazy-ton of shades. This is a good point to
try and earn those 50 and 100-combo trophies. You'll level up
very quickly and get a whole slew of awesome new spells to play
around with, and you've got infinite magic power here, so just
have fun. When you're done, a giant shade will spawn and it'll be
time for your first boss battle.
___________________________
| |
| !!!!! BOSS BATTLE !!!!! |
|___________________________|
You'll want to clear out the tiny shades first. Once they're clear,
you can fight the big boss however you want. I would recommend
pulling back, as his ranged attacks are easy to avoid, but his
melee attacks are not. For this fight you'll be stuck with only
two magic spells--dark blast and dark spear. If you want to play
it safe, you can slowly and steadily shave off the shade's HP with
dark blasts. I would recommend, instead, that you use fully charged
dark lance attacks (hold down the L1 button until you've conjured
a full semicircle's worth of giant magic spears). Three or four
fully charged magic attacks ought to be more than enough to take
this boss out.
Once you've dealt enough damage, the shade will slump down and
a circular icon will appear over his "weak point." There are a
number of symbols in the circle, representing the shade's remaining
HP. You need to attack the weak point in the circle: once the words
are gone, the boss will die. There's a catch, however--the circle is
a "clock." You have until the hand rotates a full 360 degrees
to obliterate the shade's remaining HP, otherwise the shade
will recover a portion of his HP and you'll have to repeap the
entire process.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ The Village ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02B]
THE VILLAGE
Now that the tutorial is over, you can finally start playing the
"real" game. If you don't quite understand what the prologue has to
do with the game proper, don't worry. You'll figure it out eventually.
Anwyway, welcome to the Village. After you finish speaking with
Yonah, go downstairs. Examine the glowing spots on the wall to
retrieve some items and money. After you leave the house, head
toward the fountain. You'll see a woman in red sitting down. Speak
to her. Her name is Devola, and she is the woman you hear singing
in the background. Don't ya' just love the music? After that brief
conversation, head north to the building on the cliff--that's the
library, and you'll need to speak to Devola's twin sister,
Popola, inside.
Popola is inside a room on the second floor. You'll notice that her
exact position is marked on your mini map with a large red X. This
symbol will always be present on the map over the location you are
required to visit in order to advance the story. She will give you
1000 gold and instruct you to find three pieces of mutton for the
item shop keeper, and also ask you to bring her three medicinal herbs.
On your way out, you'll see Yonah standing in the library looking
at some books. Speak to her, then leave the library. As soon as you
exit the building, you'll be treated to a brief cutscene describing
the post-post-apocalyptic setting.
THE NORTHERN PLAINS
First thing's first: the mutton. Leave the library and exit the
Village through the Northern Gate. Welcome to the Northern Plains!
The bridge is broken at the moment, so you cannot explore the whole
area, but you also don't have to worry about running into any shades
out here just yet. To get mutton, you'll have to kill some sheep.
Remember to attack the sheep from either the front, or one of the
sides, otherwise they have a nasty habit of kicking you. Their kicks
won't cause any real damage, but it can be annoying. Once you kill
and animal, appraoch the corpse until a harvest icon appears. Harvest
the corpse, and you'll get an item. Sheep commonly drop mutton, but
sometimes drop wool. There are also some goats in the area you can
kill if you feel like it. Also keep an eye out for glowing lights
on the ground--these are harvest points. You should be able to collect
several medicinal herbs, and other items, while you're here.
Once you've got the mutton and have done everything you want to do in
the Northern Plains, head back toward the village. Near the exit,
you'll be ambushed by a small group of (very weak) shades. Kill them
and head back into the village.
THE VILLAGE
Head down to the market district (past the stone archway) and speak
to the item shopkeeper. Once you've given him the mutton, you can
speak to him again to purchase some medicinal herbs, if you didn't
gather any from the harvest points in the Northern Plains, or
elsewhere in the village. Once you've got the herbs, go back to the
library and speak to Popola. Once you've done that, head back to
your house. Go upstairs and speak to Yonah to advance to the next
day.
After speaking with Yonah some more, go back to the library to speak
with Popola again. This time, she'll send you to the Northern Plains
to kill some shades that have been attacking the men repairing the
bridge.
THE NORTHERN PLAINS
Go to the Northern Plains. This is the very last time you'll
be able to explore the Northern Plains without having to worry
about hordes of shades roaming around, so if you want to stock up
on goat and sheep parts, now is a good time.
When you approacth the Bridge, a number of large shades will spawn.
Despite the build-up, they're pretty easy to take out. Once you've
killed them all, Nier will say so, and you'll be able to head
back to the village to report to Popola.
THE VILLAGE
Into the library again, to speak with Popola. After checking in
with her, go home. Go upstairs to Yonah's room and examine the
empty bed. Then, back to the library. Go speak with Popola again
to figure out what happened. Once you've realized what's happened,
it'll be time to make your way to the Lost Shrine. Begin by heading
to the Eastern Gate. You'll see an item on the ground just inside the
gate, examine it to confirm your suspiscions and then exit the Village.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ The Lost Shrine ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02C]
THE EASTERN ROAD
The Eastern Road is a pretty small area, but it's got a fair number
of goats and harvest points, which makes it very useful for harvesting
quest items. you'll want to take the left path, up the mountain, to
get to the Lost Shrine. Before you do so, however, I would recommend
fully exploring the area to harvest as many items as you can. The
right path leads to the desert, but you can't get there yet, so
don't worry about it. Once you're done, head north.
PATH TO THE LOST SHRINE
Head straight ahead through the valley: there's been a rock slide,
so you'll have to take the long way around. Climb up the ladder
to your right to find the path. You don't have to worry about any
shades in this area, and there's nothing to harvest, so just make
your way down the trail as quickly as you can. When you get to
the bridge and walk down it, the camera will zoom very far out, but
you're still in control of your character. Go up to the main door
and enter the Lost Shrine.
THE LOST SHRINE
The main floor is quite large, but there's really nothing to see
here. Head up the large circular flight of stairs. Before you get
to the second level, you'll pass by a small platform with a single
box. Break open the box to find the Lost Shrine Map. Once you get
to the second floor, you'll notice that the rest of the staircase
is broken, so you'll want to find another way up.
Head toward the outer edge of the temple. You should see a closed
door and an open doorway. Head through the open doorways and follow
that path until the end to grab the Bronze Key. Once you've got the
Bronze Key, go back the way you came. Use the key to unlock the
door, and make your way inside. You will have to fight your way
through the rest of the rooms--each time shades spawn in a room,
you'll have to defeat them all before you can open up the next
door. Anyway, fight your way through all the rooms until you get
to a ladder.
Climb up the ladder and break open the box on the platform to
obtain a new weapon, the Nirvana Dagger. Then, climb up the second
platform to reach the third floor of the temple. Once again, you'll
need to head to the rooms on the outer edge of the temple and fight
your way through them. Remember to break open any boxes you may
see to collect their contents--usually medicinal herbs. Eventually
you'll see a large door leading outside. Go through it.
You'll now have to navigate through a very short, very simple
platforming sequence to get to the very top of the temple. Once
you've reached the top, take the right path through the ruins until
you get to a large blue block. Grab onto the blue block and move it
forward toward the broken wall; then, move it to the right; finally,
move it forward again. Move the block through the light, and once
it's in the shadows again (even only partially) press it against
the wall with the broken ladder. From the top of the block,
you should be able to double-jump onto the ledge with the ladder.
Keep going through the ruins until you see a pair of ladders leading
down. There's the entrance to the final room of the temple, beyond
the large doors. Remember to save at the mailbox before going
inside. Once inside, head toward the barrier at the end of the room.
Several shades will spawn to attack you, but you can ignore them.
Attack the book in the red circle until a cutscene starts.
You will now face a very large horde of shades while the great and
powerful Grimoire Weiss illuminates your dark existence with his
words. Eventually, Weiss will offer to help you. At this point,
you need to examine the book to advance the plot. Until you do so,
the shades will continue to respawn forever. After teaming up with
Weiss, you'll still be on your own for a while. Fight off the horde
of shades as best you can. Eventually, you will obtain your first
Sealed Verse and be able to use the magic attack, Dark Blast.
Once you've cleared out all of the shades, the two statues will
come to life, triggering a boss battle.
___________________________
| |
| !!!!! BOSS BATTLE !!!!! |
|___________________________|
Keep your distance from the two bosses and bombard them with
dark blasts. Remember to tap the button instead of holding it:
doing so will make your attacks more powerful, and let you
move around more quickly, to better dodge the statues' charge
attacks. Eventually, one of the statues will encase itself in
a spherical shield: when it does so, ignore. Always focus your
attacks on the unshielded foe.
When you've dealt sufficient damage to the boss, it will collapse
and a circle icon appear, the same as last time. Take it out, and
you'll be treated to a short cutscene and earn your second
Sealed Verse, emporing Weiss with the very useful Dark Lance magic
spell. Now that you've got dark lance, use it on the unshielded
boss to kill him. Now, it's one-on-one.
But, oh, look at that. The second statue has summoned another
horde of small shades to annoy you. Deal with them and attack
the second statue the same way you did the first. When the damage
circle appears, use your dark lance magic attack to land the killing
blow. Once both bosses are dead, run up to Yonah to trigger a series
of cutscenes.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ The Aerie ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02D]
THE VILLAGE
You are now back in the village. After speaking with Yonah, leave your
house to start a short conversation with Weiss. You may now start
some sidequests, should the need consume you. (Refer to the side quest
section of this FAQ for further information). Go to the library and
speak with Popola. She'll tell you to go to another village called
the Aerie, to speak with its mayor. Exit the Village through the
north gate.
THE NORTHERN PLAINS
The path to the Aeries lies in the southwestern corner of the
Northern Plains, on the other side of the bridge. You'll notice
that the plains are now infested with shades. You can fight them
as you go, or not, it really doesn't matter. The entrance to the
Aerie is rather odd: it looks like the entrance to a mine.
THE AERIE
As soon as you enter the area, head toward the small hut on the
right for a (very short) spot of dialog with Weiss. Then, continue
through the tunnel until you reach the village proper. Head down
the bridge to the circular platform. A large number of shades will
spawn and attack you--apparently, the Aerie is under attack.
Kill them, and continue to the valley wall. You'll see a ladder on
your right, leading up to another level. Climb it, then turn around
and cross the bridge to the other side of the canyon.
You'll see a hut up high on the right on the other end of the
canyone. That is the mayor's house, your destination. Cross the
bridge, fending off all the shades that spawn, and when you reach
the other end climb up the ladder to your right. Go to the door
of the house to speak with the mayor. After that elucidating
conversation, it's time to go back the way you came. As you leave
the village proper, be sure to save your game at the mailbox.
When you reach the clearing at the exit, go inside the small hut
and examine the flowers inside. This will prompt a cutscene
introducing a new character, Kaine... and trigger a boss battle.
___________________________
| |
| !!!!! BOSS BATTLE !!!!! |
|___________________________|
Kaine is very fast, and has some pretty mean attacks. She also
happens to be very resistant to magic attacks, so you're going to
have to melee it up, duel-style. Once you've lowered her HP a bit,
she'll power up and start using some pretty heady magic attacks.
You'll have to focus on dodging them, but the tactics to use
are more or less the same: avoid her melee attacks, get behind her
and start hacking away. Once you've dealt sufficient damage (when
her HP is down to 25% or so) a giant shade will appear, interupting
the duel.
___________________________
| |
| !!!!! BOSS BATTLE !!!!! |
|___________________________|
Kaine, it turns out, isn't so bad after all: she'll help you kill
the shade. Just don't expect her to be nice about it. This shade is
a pretty easy kill: it has two attacks to watch out for. One is a
shockwave attack--it raises an appendage and slams it down on the
ground, releasing a massive shockwave you'll have to jump to avoid.
The second attack is a scatter-shot ranged attack, which can either
be blocked, evaded, or negated with dark blast magic attacks. I
recommend keeping your distance from the shade so you can avoid its
attacks, and damaging it with a constant stream of dark blast
attacks. Eventually, a damage circle will appear on the shade's
left leg. Break it, and the shade will retreat up the face of the
cliff and spew a bunch of very odd, spherical quasi-shades onto
the ground.
The spherical shade things are pretty useless. Kill them or ignore
them, it doesn't much matter. Just keep using magic attacks on the
big mother shade. Eventually, a damage circle will appear over her
other leg: break it, and she'll come back down.
This third stage is identical to the first stage of the boss battle,
only now the shade is enraged. The scattershot attack lasts much longer
this time around, and involves a great many more magical projecticles,
and the shockwave attack now unleashed multiple expanding waves as
she pounds her fists onto the ground one after another. Keep attacking,
and soon a damage circle will appear over the shade's head: break it
to end the battle.
View the scenes with Kaine, and then depart the Aerie.
THE NORTHERN PLAINS
Once you enter the northern plains, you'll be asked to make a choice.
You can either choose to go back to Popola to check in, or you can
go straight home to see your daughter. What you pick here doesn't
really effect anything other than where the map marker will appear.
You can see either Popola or Yonah no matter whom you choose. Speaking
to Popola first will yield a very, very small amount of additional
narrative; speaking to Yonah first will move the story along just
a little bit faster. Since you'll have to speak to Popola after
seeing Yonah anyway, I'd recommend going home to speak to Yonah
first.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ The Seafront ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02E]
THE VILLAGE
Go home and speak to Yonah. It turns out she isn't feeling so
well. Go to the library and speak to Popola: she'll tell you about
a special fish that can be used to make a potent painkiller, and
direct you toward the Seafront. To reach the Seafront, you'll need
to exit the Village through the southern gate, which lies at the end
of the market district. There are a number of quests in the market
district that involve going to Seafront, so now might be a good time
to get started if you haven't already.
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
Occasionally, a very large "boss" shade will spawn in this first
area of the southern plains. If it does, you should avoid
it--it's much stronger than you at the moment. That does not mean
you cannot kill it, however. By now you should have access to the
Dark Hand magic attack. This is what you need to use. Run up to
the shade and circle around behind it. You'll want to stay directly
behind the shade and pound him with dark hand attacks until he
dies. It can be very time-consuming, but odds are most of
his attacks can kill you in a single hit, so it's your only option.
Soon after you enter the southern plains, you'll see a guard being
attacked by a number of shades. Kill all the shades to save the
guard and then speak to him. He'll give you the one-handed sword,
Moonrise.
As per the usual, run around through the area gathering everything
you can at all of the harvest points, and killing all the deer you
find. Harvest them for venison, and the occasional antler. At the
other end of the Southern Plains, you'll see a narrow path leading
upward to a very creepy looking mansion. If you're short on cash,
this area is a godsend. There is one giant spider lurking outside
the gate to the mansion: knock it over with a dark hand attack, and
then either keep using magic to attack it, or close in and chop it
up with your sword. Watch out for it's wide-angle poison attacks.
Kill it and harvest the corpse. Both the giant spider's common and
rare drops can be sold for a good bit of money.
You can enter the gate to the mansion and go inside the yard.
Everything turns black and white inside, which is rather odd, but just
go with it. Use the same strategy on the three giant spiders inside
the yard, and harvest their remains. You can't do anything more here,
so head back down the path and keep moving south toward the port
city of Seafront.
SEAFRONT
There are no map icons in Seafront, so you'll have to figure out what
to do all by yourself, which is what I recommend doing. There's some
rather amusing dialog with Weiss. Eventually, Weiss will tell you
exactly what to do if you ask him, or you can just listen to me.
The man you need to speak to is the old fisherman, standing at
the wharf looking out over the ocean, just beyond the fishmonger's
stall. Speak to him, and he will give you a fishing pole and a lure.
Rather than simply give you a fish, the old fisherman decides to
teach you how to fish. Ignore everything he says. It's rubbish. Refer
to the fishing section in this FAQ for details. Anyway, once you've
got your fishing gear, head toward Seafront's largest beach, now
marked with one of those handy red Xs on your mini-map. Start fishing.
If you catch the fish, great. If you fail to catch the fish, and
keep failing, you'll trigger a brief cutscene that is somewhat less
amusing than it was intended to be, and recieve the desired fish
automatically.
On your way back to the city, you wil be accosted by an elderly woman.
Speak to her to start a chain of sidequests to solve the "mystery"
of Seafront. She wants you to pick up her mail, so run on over to
the Seafront post office. Speak with the postman and he'll give you
a letter for the old woman, as well as a letter for Popola back in
the village. Remember, you can read any letter you recieve, even
after you give it away, through the documents section of the main
menu. Anyway, go back to the beach: the crone is no longer there.
Take the other path through the cave up to the lighthouse. Go inside
the lighthouse and start climbing. When you find the old bat, giver
her the mail she so politely asked you to fetch. When you're done,
you can leave Seafront through the exit in the north.
THE SOUTHERN PLAINS
Same as before, there's not exactly a lot to do here. Kill the giant
spiders if you feel like it, and don't forget to collect whatever
you can from any harvest points that you see.
THE VILLAGE
Go straight to your house and give the fish medicine to Yonah.
Apparently, it works wonders. The following morning, head straight
to the library to speak with Popola. She'll tell you to go and
check out the Aerie again, but wants you to upgrade your weapon
before you do. First, go to the tavern in the market district and
talk to Devola. If you're short on cash, now's the time to start
doing some sidequests. After you leave the tavern, head for the
northern gate--it's off the the Junk Heap to upgrade your sword.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ The Junk Heap ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02F]
THE NORTHERN PLAINS
Head to the northwest area of the plains. Climb down the cliffs to
the waterfall pond--that's the iron bridge you need to climb up.
The wooden scaffolding on the side of the bridge has a number of
ladders, so get climbing! If you're low on medicinal herbs, all
of the boxes on the wooden platforms contain some, so stock up.
Once you're on top of the bridge, follow it north to the chain link
fence. Go inside to enter the outer grounds of the Junk Heap. There's
a hut surrounded by pipes to your immediate left--go inside and speak
with the two brothers. They'll agree to upgrade your weapon, but they
don't have the material they need. They'll send you deep into the
Junk Heap in order to scavenge up three pieces of titanium.
THE JUNK HEAP
You'll only have access to the first floor of the Junk Heap for now.
Titanium is a rare drop, and only falls from the robots with the
red lights on their heads. You may have to exit and re-enter the
Junk Heap a couple of times to collect everything you need, depending
on how lucky you are. The first floor is pretty straightforward, but
there's a blue block very early on that you'll have to move to the
end of the corridor in order to jump up onto the ledge. Anyway, once
you've collected three titanium alloys go back to the forge and speak
with Gideon. He'll upgrade your Nameless Blade, and then send
you back inside the Junk Heap to look for his mother.
This time you can access the elevators. The second elevator goes up
to the second floor--there's really nothing there, but the robots
that mob you can be useful for item-farming. The elevator you need
to take is the very first one you see--just before the blue block.
Take it down to the first basement level and fight your way past all
of the robots until you get to a room with a turret that pops up
out of the floor. After you destroy the turret, the doors will open,
but your path is blocked by some wreckage! Examine the point of the
floor where the turret was. A bomb should appear there very soon: toss
the bomb at the wreckage to clear your route forward.
You'll come to a mine-cart. Jump inside and examine it to begin a
simple rail-shooting experience. Use your dark blasts to kill all
of the enemies that swarm around you. You can move forward to speed
up the cart, and move backward to slow it down. Try to take care
of every single enemy here, they make for good XP farming.
After getting off the mine cart, make your way to the robot ambush
room. Kill all of the robots and both turrets. The way forward looks
a bit tricky: you've got two doorways blocked by debris, and a chasm
to get pass through. Use one bomb to blow up the immediate wreckage
and toss another at the far wall to clear that path, too. Now you'll
have to leap over the chasm. You'll have to double-jump carefully
to land on the other side, but it's not too difficult.
Save at the mailbox and break open the boxes for some medicinal herbs.
You can go back the way you came if you feel you're not quite ready:
run forward onto the large circular platform to trigger a boss battle.
___________________________
| |
| !!!!! BOSS BATTLE !!!!! |
|___________________________|
This giant robot is all head and hands. You won't be able to damage
it for a while, so just sit tight. The boss will attack you with
it's hands, by way of very slow moving lasers. Dodge the laser attacks
and wait for one of the hands to "detach" from the head and hover
just over your head. Now's your time to act! Run away from the hand's
shadow, toward the edge of the palm. That way, you'll have time to
escape before it slams down. If you run toward the shadow of the
fingers or thumb, you'll be crushed. Once you've avoided the the
giant metal slap, turn about and attack. I recommend using Dark Hand
magic attacks, as they deal the most damage. The hand will retreat,
and the next one will move toward you. Repeat the tactic. After the
second hand retreats, the boss will go back to using slow-moving
lasers. Just keep on doing what you've been doing. Once both hands
have been destroyed, you'll trigger the second phase of the boss
fight.
The head will retreat and try to deal with you by sending wave
after wave or robots at you. These are the same guys you've been
' fighting in the Junk Heap, so they shouldn't be any trouble at all.
Once all the robots are dead, several turrets will pop up around
the peripherary of the platform. Destroy them all to trigger the
third and final stage of the boss fight.
This bit is fairly simple: the boss will shoot a barrage of missiles
from its eyes. You need to focus on avoiding those missiles. When
all of the missiles are spent, the boss will lower its head and
attack you with a mouth-laser. Grab a bomb from the spot where one
of the turrets was, and lob it into the robot's mouth without getting
hit by the laser. The boss will take damage, and raise up to fire
more volleys of missiles out of its eyes. Keep dodging the missiles
and tossing bombs in its mouth until it is destroyed. Once the boss
is dead, you'll obetain the sealed verse, Dark Gluttony.
Now, move across the only bridge and through the door for a short
scene. Examine the corpse on the floor, and you'll be transported
back to the two brothers' shop. Speak to Gideon, and either tell
him the truth or lie to him--it doesn't really effect anything. Exit
the shop for a small scene. Now, leave for the Northern Plains. The
next time you visit the Junk Heap (in Part 1 of the game) you'll
be able to upgrade your weapons as you see fit.
__ __
\ \____ _____/ /
| ____> ~ The Aerie, Again ~ <_____ |
/_/ \_\
[N-02G]
THE NORTHERN PLAINS
As soon as you climb down from the bridge, you'll be attacked by a
mob of shades. Actually, there are a lot more shades pretty much
everywhere in the plains now. Fight your way toward the Aerie. If
you feel like it, kill the wild boar near the cliff again to harvest
some of it's valuable, erm... fleshy bits. Prepare yourself for
some major combat, and head into the Aerie.
THE AERIE
Run into the clearing and help Kaine take care of all the smaller
shades in the area. Once they're all dead, run through the tunnel,
killing all of the shades that you encounter on the way. Examine the
mailbox or not once you get to the village--you cannot save, either
way. Run to the first large platform to trigger a scene and
initiate the first half of a very cool boss fight.
___________________________
| |
| !!!!! BOSS BATTLE !!!!! |
|___________________________|
The strategy here is the same as the last time you fought this bad
mother. Attack the feet, and watch out for the shockwave attacks.
Once you've dealt enough damage, a damage circle will appear over
the boss's leg: destroy it to trigger an epic scene. Yeah, that's
the kind of fight this is gonna be.
Cross the bridge to the other side of the canyon and climb down
the ladder on the left. Move to the right side of the platform,
killing all of the shades that appear in your way as you go, and
then climb right back up another ladder. Cross the bridge to the
Aerie's second large platform to begin the second phase of this
boss battle.
This taime around, you need to focus on the boss' giant tail.
Fire dark blast and dark lance magic attacks at it until
a damage circle appears. It will fire off those odd little
spherical shades at you, but for now you can safely ignore them.
Destroy the damage circle to trigger another scene. Then cross the
bridge to the web of platforms lining the far canyon wall.
This section is a bit like a 2D, sidscrolling shooter. The objective
is fairly simple: move from the right side of the screen to the
left side of the screen, killing all of the spherical shades with
damage circle icons around them. Once all of those special shades
are dead, another scene will trigge
